1. Field of the Invention
The invention generally relates to the treatment of immune related disorders. In particular, the invention provides methods of reducing the symptoms associated with immune related disorders by administering agents that are antagonists of kainate receptors.
2. Background of the Invention
Immune system related disorders have deleterious health effects ranging from the mildly annoying (e.g. some allergy symptoms) to severely debilitating and/or life threatening (e.g. anaphylactic shock, autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE)). Such conditions are generally attributable to over-activity of the immune system. A common characteristic that has been identified for several immune system disorders is the presence of elevated levels of glutamate in the periphery of patients with such disorders. In fact, some other diseases that are not usually thought of as immune related (e.g. certain cancers, epilepsy, etc.) are also characterized by elevated levels of glutamate.
While there has been some success in treating immune related disorders, no cures have been developed, and some treatments have undesirable side effects and/or do not provide full relief from symptoms of the disease. There is thus an ongoing need to provide new methods of treating immune related disorders.